PAKISTAN JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY (PJM)

Author Information

Instructions to Authors

Editorial Policy

The Journal of Pakistan Society for Microbiology publishes peer reviewed, original material of interest in the broad field of Microbiology. Articles describing original investigations and short reports will be considered for publication. Manuscripts including illustration and tables must be original and not under consideration by another publication. Paper should be in accordance with requirement for manuscript submission to Journals as cited in New England Journal of Medicine website(http://www.nejm.org/page/author-center/manuscript-submission) and detailed below

Manuscript Submission

Submit one copy of the manuscript and figures (MS Word compatible) via submission link in the menu or on right sidebar of website. Please submit your manuscripts in .doc format.

Review Procedure

Submitted manuscript is reviewed for originality, significance, adequacy of documentation, reader interest and composition. Manuscript not submitted according to instructions will be returned to the author for correction prior to beginning the peer reviews process. All manuscripts considered suitable for review are evaluated by a minimum of two reviewers.Revised manuscripts are judged on the adequacy of responses to suggestions and criticisms made during the initial review.

Authorship

1- According to ICJME recommendations authorship to a manuscript should be attributed according to the following for criteria ( http://www.icmje.org/news-and- editorials/updated_recommendations_dec2016.html 2- Individuals with a significant contribution in the concept, design of the study, or collection and analysis of data in addition to interpretation of results.3- Participation in assembly of the manuscript and/or revision for important intellectual content.4- Participation in approval of the manuscript submitted for publication.5- Individuals who agree to be accountable for all aspects of the manuscript including accuracy and integrity of the study, interpretation of data and analysis. A signed statement by each author attesting to fulfilling the ICMJE criteria for authorship must be submitted along with the manuscript. .Any change in authorship after submission must be approved in writing by all authors.

Antiplagiarism Policy

Manuscript should not be plagiarized. If more than 20% material is found to be plagiarized, authors will be asked to modify the manuscript.

Cover letter

All manuscripts must accompany a cover letter outlining the importance and scope of the work presented. In addition, name and contact information of the corresponding must be included in the cover letter.

Format Requirements

A) General requirementsManuscript must be written in English. Type the manuscript on white bond paper A4 size with margins of areas 1.5 inches (4cms). Type on one side of the paper only, double-spacing every page. Begin each of the following sections on separate pages and in the following order: Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables and Figures (each on a separate sheet) and legends. Number pages consecutively, beginning with the title page. Type the page number on the upper right hand corner of the page.

B) Title Page

The title page of the manuscript should include: (1) concise and informative title (less than 200 characters); (2) complete by-line with first name, middle name and last name of each author; up to 10 authors may be cited; (3) complete affiliation of each author with the name of department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed; (4) name, address, and telephone number of one author responsible for correspondence about the manuscript; (5) name and address of authors to whom reprint requests should be directed; (6) Sources ofsupport in the form of grants, equipment, drugs or all of these; (7) a short running head or foot- line of not more than 40 characters (count letter and spaces) at the foot of the title page.

C) Abstract

A structured abstract of not more than 250 words should state the purpose of the study or investigations, basic procedures (study subjects or experimental animals and observational and analytical methods), major findings (specific data and their statistical significance, if not too lengthy) and the principal conclusion. Emphasize new and important aspect of the study or observation. No abbreviation or reference citations are to be used in the abstract. Below the abstract authors should provide and identify as such 3 – 10 key words or short phrases that will assist in cross-indexing the article and may be published with the abstract. Terms from the medical subjects headings (MeSH) list of Index medicus should be used.

D) Introduction

State the purpose of the article and summarize the rationale for the study or observation. Give only strictly pertinent references and do not include data or conclusions from the work being reported.

E) Methods

Describe your selection of the observational or experimental subjects (patients or laboratory animals, including controls), clearly identify the age, sex and other important characteristics of the subject. Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturers name and address in particular) and procedures in sufficient details to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give reference to established methods including statistical methods (see below); providereference and brief description for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new and substantially modified methods; give reasons for using them and evaluate the limitation.Authors submitting review manuscripts should include a section describing the method used for locating, selecting, extracting and synthesizing data. These methods should also be summarized in the abstract.

F) Statistics

Describe statistical methods with enough details to enable a knowledgeable reader with excess to the original data to verify the reported results. When possible quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence interval). Avoid relying solely on statistical hypothesis such as the use of values, which fails to convey important quantitative information. Give details about randomization, specify general computer program used. Restrict tables and figures to those which are needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries. Do not duplicate data in graphs and tables. Define statistical terms, abbreviations and symbols.

G) Results

Present your results in logical sequence in the text, table and illustrations. Do not repeat in the text all data in the table or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations.

H) Discussion

Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusion that follow from these. Do not repeat in details data or other material given in the introduction or the result section. Include in the discussion the implications, other findings and their limitations including implication for future research. Relate the observation to other relevant studies. List the conclusions with the goal of the study but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the data. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. State new hypothesis when warranted, but clearly label them as such. Recommendations, when appropriate, may be included.

I) References:

References should be cited in consecutive numerical order as first mentioned in the text and designated by the reference number in parenthesis. References appearing in a table or figure should be numbered sequentially with those in text. The reference list must be typed double- spaced and numbered consecutively as in the text. The Journal follows Index Medicus style for reference and abbreviation, journal names according to the list of journals indexed in the Index Medicus. References cited as “in press” must have been accepted and not merely in preparation or submission.For Journal articles list the first three authors and et al:Baur A. W., Kirby WM, Shvis JC, et al. Antibiotic susceptibility testing by a standardized single disc method. Am. J. Clin. Path, 1966; 45:493-96.Speller DCE. Hospital associated infections In: Topley and Wilson’s, Principles of Bacteriology,Virology and Immunology. London, Edward Amold, 1990; 3:142-67.

J) Tables and Figuresa. Tables

Print each table double spaced on a separate page. Table should be self-explanatory and should supplement, not duplicate the text. Each table must be cited in consecutive numerical order in the text. The title should be descriptive and brief. Do not use vertical lines. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading. Explanatory footnotes should be used.

b. Illustrations

Illustration should clarify and augment the text. The selection of sharp, high quality illustrations is of paramount importance. Figures of inferior quality will be returned to the author for correction or replacement. Submit three complete set of glossy illustrations, not smaller than 3-1/2x5 inches nor larger than 8x10 inches. No hand drawn or type written art will be accepted. Letters, numbers and symbols (typeset or template) must be clear and of sufficient size to retain legibility after reduction. Each illustration must be numbered and cited in consecutive order in the text. Illustrations should be identified and contain the following information: figure number, part of figure (if more than one) and designation of “top”. Sequenced data, chemical and biochemical nomenclature and enzyme nomenclature should be according to the ASM Journal.

K) Legends for Illustrations

Legends for illustration would be concise and should not repeat the text. Legends should be typed double-spaced on a separate page. Each figure should be cited in consecutive numerical order in the text. Give the figures a number following the word “Figure”.

Text

The text of original scientific paper exclusive of the abstract, legends, tables and references should not exceed 5000 words. Short report should contain a concise description of no more than 1250 words, exclusive of the abstract, legends, tables and references, illustrated with no more than 3 figures emphasizing the aspect and including methodology, data and correlative studies. Identify drugs, media and instruments and manufacturers name and address in parenthesis.